Nirwana Bali Golf Club is located on the tropical island of Bali, Indonesia, near Canggu and a short taxi ride from downtown Seminyak. The course opened in 1997 and was designed by Greg Norman. Situated on the coast, the course layout features five holes that are ocean-side, three cliff-to-cliff tee shots and eight holes sculpted into the terraced rice fields. The signature Par 3 7th hole overlooks the famous Tanah Lot temple, its definitely one of those take your breath away holes when you arrive on the tee. Nirwana is ranked 84th in Golf Digests 2016 World’s Top 100 Golf Courses.

Nirwana Bali – Signature 7th hole

The Layout
The Norman layout winds from inland undulating holes through traditional terraced rice fields, out to the ocean then back through tropical forest. Highlights include taking on the ocean in three dramatic cliff top tee shots 7th, 13th, 14th, playing across working terraced rice fields 2nd, 3rd and the diverse and challenging diversity of holes on this undulating layout.

Nirwana Bali Golf Club – Layout

Favourite Holes2nd Hole – Par 3 172 metres

After a strong opening par 4, the par 3 second hole is the first “wow” moment with a stunning view across a terraced rice field to a green perched on a ridge protected by a large Norman bunker on the left.

Nirwana Bali – 2nd hole

6th Hole – Par 5 458 metres

By no means a long par 5, however this dogleg left hole requires some thought of the tee to put the ball in play for the next shot. A drive down the right will open up the hole, as you turn the corner you also catch the first glimpse of the ocean with waves crashing onto rocks behind the green. The green is makeable in two, or a layup and short wedge may be the more strategic play to a well bunkered green

Nirwana Bali – 6th Hole

7th Hole – Par 3 196 metres

After winding up the path to the 7th tee, the first view of the signature hole is breathtaking. The Tanah Lot temple sits majestically on an island to the left, with the tee perched over the waves below, the hole is all carry to the green in the distance. Its not a short hole either, so many will need a medium to long iron. There will often be some additional spectators from the nearby resort to add to the pressure of this shot. There is some bailout relief right, but you will need a clean strike to make the carry. Love this hole.

View of the 7th hole at Nirwana Bali Golf Club

12th Hole – Par 4 348 metres

A great strategic par 4. Hitting up to a dogleg right fairway you need to get as close to the distant fairway bunker as possible to benefit from a direct shot at the green. Once up to the top of the fairway you again are greeted with a spectacular view of the ocean, and then the green downhill and over a ocean fed stream. The approach shot is all carry!

Nirwana 12th fairway

The Word

If you are lucky enough to get to Bali for a holiday, be sure to visit Nirwana Bali Golf Club. The layout is challenging yet enjoyable and the course is maintained in great condition.

Hire clubs are excellent quality, and definitely worth considering to avoid lugging the clubs from home

The local Balinese caddies are brilliant, riding on the back of the golf carts they know the course inside and out, and can provide advise on where to hit, where not to hit and what line your putt should take. Of course, you need to then be able to play that shot!

The Eastern Golf Club has a proud history as a private suburban golf club in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. In 2013 the Club embarked on a huge transformation, selling the valuable sloping plot of land in Doncaster to be redeveloped into housing and moving to a new facility in Melbourne’s Yarra Valley. The club appointed Greg Norman Golf Course Design to design a 27 hole layout with an additional 9 hole par 3 course, complete with Country Club style clubhouse and facilities. Only a short drive from Melbourne, surrounded by wineries, local produce and scenic views, the course joins Yering Meadows, The Heritage, Gardiners Run and Healesville Country Club as one of Australia’s new golf destinations.

The Layout

The Norman design incorporates holes that have been carefully routed to work with the existing topography, capitalise on the dramatic views and to ensure that the holes have a mix of orientations to prevailing winds for an exciting golf course.

As at early 2016, there is a composite 18 hole layout of completed holes. (1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10,27 – 19,25,26,13,14,15,16,17,18)

Favourite Holes7th Hole (Composite 5th) Par 4 364 metres

The 7th hole looks fairly tame from the tee with a wide welcoming fairway, however the landing area tapers further down the fairway, with the green protected by contours and angled in line with the approach shot offering a narrow landing zone.

26th Hole (Composite12th) Par 4 386 metres

Viewed from the tee, there is a lot of water in play. The lake immediately right will place fear into those who slice their drive. Water also runs along the left side of the fairway and will catch a pulled drive. Again the angled and slightly raised green is protected by 3 bunkers and needs an accurate approach.

14th Hole (Composite 14th) Par 5 537 metres

At 537 metres from the Blue tees, this is a brute of a par 5. Bunkers on the right draw the line for the drive to the right however water on the left needs to be avoided. The longest of hitters could cut the corner and attack the green which is well protected by mounds and bunkers. Mere mortals will need to layup avoiding water hazards, then play an accurate approach to the green. A tough hole!

18th Hole (Composite 18th) Par 4 414 metres

The final hole is a fantastic finishing hole, standing on the tee with the clubhouse behind the green, and the Yarra Ranges in the distance. The 414 metre par 4 requires a solid drive to find the fairway and setup the approach. The green sits on a ridge and anything short or left will face a tough up and down. A par on the last is well earned.

The Word
The Eastern Golf Club is a challenging but rewarding layout. Having played the composite course of completed holes, there were sneak peaks at the yet to be completed holes, the final layout will be more than impressive. Given that the holes have only been open for play for less than a year, the course is already in excellent condition, and will only get better. The Clubhouse facilities are five star with large open bar and dining facilities providing a welcoming country club feel, and service to make you feel like you are a tour professional. This is a private club, with possible opportunity for Managers introductions for interstate and international club members. Or there is the option to access the course as a guest staying at the boutique Yering Gorge Cottages

The 2016 Masters had an unbelievable finish, with Danny Willett firing a gutsy final round 67 to join fellow countryman Nick Faldo as the only other Brit to win the Masters. But the 2016 Masters will be remembered for two key moments that prove that this wonderful game of golf is bloody hard, and makes us mere mortal amateurs on a handicap realise that even the best can make mistakes!

1. Putting – Ernie Els
All golfers have suffered from the nervous moments over a short putt, and the pain of a three putt green, on the rare occasion, the dreaded four putt. So spare a thought for Ernie Els who SIX putted the first green on Day One of the Masters, from less than 3 feet. Ernie had a brain fade and a case of the severe yips. He went on to card a respectable 80 following a 9 on the first!

2. The Short Game – Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth came to the short 12th hole at Augusta after dropping 2 shots on the previous two holes, but still with a 3 shot lead. His 9 iron tee shot was short and rolled into the water, a mistake but no need to panic. The third shot, a wedge was hit fat and went into the water. It was a wedge shot that Ive hit countless times, poor timing, deceleration through the swing, flying left elbow. Which made it all the more extraordinary to see one of the World’s greatest golfer essentially lose the Masters with a fat wedge shot. He went on to lose to Danny Willett by 3 shots.

Caveat

Whilst these shots prove that the best golfers in the World are human, these professionals werent playing in the local stableford weekend competition on a flat goat track public course, they were playing for the Masters on one of the toughest course’s on the planet.

If you own an Android smartphone and play golf and also like to read reviews then click here for reviews about golf. There is a good chance that Google is following you! Google Location is a setting on your phone that when activated tracks your movements to “let apps better define your location”. These locations are all stored by Google, and by visiting google.com/maps/timeline you can find a history of your movements. Ive been able to see a history of my movements around Barnbougle Dunes Golf Course in Tasmania during a recent golf weekend. Some of the tracking is so accurate that you can see how I played individual golf holes (some better than others). Dont go left off the tee on the 5th hole at Barnbougle Lost Farm or the 8th hole, as the location tracing below sadly shows!

South-east Australia already has a wealth of world-class golf courses, with five listed in the world’s top 100. From the classic sandbelt courses Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath and Victoria near Melbourne to the links inspired Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm in North-East Tasmania. Having just played Cape Wickham on King Island, one more course will be added to that list next year.

King Island is located midway between Melbourne and Tasmania in Bass Strait, and is home to about 1,600 permanent residents.. The islands primary industries are cheese and beef, however golf is about to become a significant tourism asset for this small island with the opening of Cape Wickham in November 2015, to be followed by Ocean Dunes over the next 12 months.

The layout

Image: capewickham.com.au/the-course/

Cape Wickham course architect Mike DeVries supported by Darius Oliver of Planet Golf has turned rolling absolute coastal frontage land into a spectacular golf course. Thirteen holes are on the coast itself, with eight holes running along the coastline, and another five with tee or green on the shoreline. The additional holes wind through the adjacent dunes. Combine Turnberry with Pebble Beach and you are starting to get the idea of what this course is all about. There are no bad holes, and every hole has views of the ocean. You are captivated by this course from first view, your eyes look to Australia’s tallest lighthouse to the East of the clubhouse, then as you pan across the course you look out over Victoria Cove, with the brilliant 18th hole winding along its beach. You then focus on the first hole and its daunting tee shot across a gully to an open fairway with ocean to your right. Im not sure if there are many days on King Island that are not windy, the course may reveal its soft side on those days. However for the majority of time, the course is designed to the prevailing wind, which provides more challenges and an oh, so tough but exciting finish.

Favourite Holes
(This is going to be tough as every hole on this course has its unique and memorable features)

First Hole – Par 4 340 Metres
Cape Wickham’s opening hole is already one of the classic opening golf holes in Australia. The exposed tee with a short but daunting carry over a rugged gully to an open fairway ahead needs a cool head and an accurate drive to setup the approach, anything right is gone. The hole dares you to get as close to the right edge as possible to improve the approach into the angled green which is protected by a couple of bunkers. There are two distinct tiers on the green, be on the correct one! An awesome start.

Third Hole – Par 3 170 metres
The first of the par 3’s is one of three absolute ocean coastline short holes, its also the longest. The large angled green is 48 metres deep with generous bailout short left, but anything right will find bunkers, dense rough, or if you are way offline, the ocean. A large ridge runs through the middle of the green, treat the 3rd with respect.

Ninth Hole – Par 5 488 metres
By the time you reach the 9th, you have settled into the Cape Wickham layout, for better or worse. You have played three holes along the coast and then into the rolling dunes. The 9th tee sits high on a dune with the fairway winding back down towards the ocean. The ideal line off the tee is down the left, though if you are contemplating hitting the green in two, a drive to the right of the fairway present a better angle. With a large gully cutting the fairway between 100 and 50 metres into the green, a big decision on the second shot is to attack the green or layup short. Whatever the decision, the shot into the green needs to avoid dunes on either side of the green and hit the narrow green, stopping before the bunkers gaurding the back.

Tenth Hole – Par 4 327 metres
The turn to the backnine is still a long way back to the clubhouse (you pass the clubhouse after the 13th). The 10th hole is a fun short par 4, descending from an elevated tee down a sloping fairway to the green perched above the waves. The views are sublime, a good drive will benefit from the steep fairway leaving a short approach into the green. Spectacular to look at, fun to play.

Eleventh Hole – Par 3 136 metres
Another wait for photos, selfies and awe and wonder before teeing off. The hole is short but deadly, the tee shot cuts across the ocean and coastline rocks to a green perched above the crashing waves to the left. A small bunker protects the front left and anything long will quickly roll into the rough, a large dune punishes anything right. As the prevailing wind picks up, the club selection will drop but not the difficulty.

Sixteenth Hole – Par 4 377 metresAt 377 metres its not the longest par 4 on the course, but it earns its stroke index of 1. The 16th tee sits perched above the ocean, waves crashing nearby, it starts the unforgettable final three holes and will often play into the wind. The carry across rocks and rough is only 100 metres but seems a lot more, again the design tempts the drive to hug the right edge of the fairway for a better approach into the green which is exposed to the wind.

Eighteenth Hole – Par 4 395 metresHaving spent the last couple of hours in awe of the layout that is Cape Wickham, you walk to the final tee for one last OMG moment. Multiple tee boxes give alternate experiences, two tees close to the ocean present a seemingly impossible task of trying to carry the dune almost 200 metres in the distance, with only a sliver of fairway to be seen. A higher tee box gives a more panoramic aspect. The beach below beckons the wayward drive and is also fully in play. Aim too far left to avoid the beach, and there is the risk of running out of fairway as it angles toward the green. The approach shot needs to keep out of the high dunes to the left, and avoid being pushed towards the beach next to the green. A brilliant finishing hole to finish a spectacular layout.

Honourable mentions to the 2nd, 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th and 17th.

Playing Tips

Take a camera and camera phone, no matter where you are there will be an amazing shot to take.

Take enough balls, the coastal rough, fescue and ocean itself will consume any errant shot

Play links golf, no stopping the ball on a dime here, approaches need to be carefully thought through, pitch and run

Careful when walking off fairway, there are many mutton bird nest which are dug into the sand, some are quite deep and its easy to trip or ruin a round by twisting an ankle

And keep an eye out for snakes, we noticed a couple of copperhead snakes off fairway (and one on fairway) during our round
Snakes

Getting There
King Island has a small airport, with regional airlines Rex and King Island Air operating daily services. There is also the option to charter a flight from a number of private airlines.
Its approximately 40 minutes from Melbourne. More details are on the golf course website

The Word
Cape Wickham has put the small island of King Island on the global golfing map. The course must already be one of Australia’s best layouts, and should comfortably sit in the world Top 100. This is one to add to your bucket list, play it now, then return when the Ocean Dunes course opens in another year which also looks to be spectacular.

As the USA celebrations came to an end following their narrow win over the International team at the President Cup in South Korea, the world golfing spotlight was turned to shine brightly on Melbourne. In great news for golf in Australia, Melbourne will host the 2016 World Cup of Golf, and the 2019 Presidents Cup.

2019 Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a teams event, similar to the Ryder Cup, matching the best US golfers against the best of the world (excluding Europe). The teams play a mix of foursomes, fourballs and singles matches. In eleven previous events, the US team have won ten. Melbourne has previously hosted the Presidents Cup in 1998, the Internationals only win, and again in 2011. Both events were held at Royal Melbourne composite layout, still recognised as the best course in Australia, and one of the World’s top courses. Royal Melbourne is an ideal venue for the Presidents Cup format and is an excellent spectators course. Whilst the venue for the Presidents Cup is yet to be named, Royal Melbourne would be the ideal layout.

2016 World Cup
The World Cup of golf is a tournament featuring teams of two representing their country in a 72 hole stroke event, with an individual winner, and combined team winner. Australia has hosted the World Cup four times, most recently in 2013 at Royal Melbourne when Jason Day won the individual event and Australia winning the team event. The venue for next years World Cup is yet to be announced, Melbourne is spoilt for choice with world class courses to host world class golf events. Whilst Royal Melbourne is an ideal choice, Metropolitan Golf Club, Victoria Golf Club or Kingston Heath Golf Club are both excellent layouts for tournament golf and should be considered as host venues for next years event to be held in November 2016. People usually play online videogames and get services from http://elitist-gaming.com while they wait for the event.

Last Sunday, Jason Day was putting like a Champion, again, to win his third tournament in four weeks. The win in the Barclays capped a remarkable month which was highlighted by Jason’s breakthrough major win at the PGA Championship and also the Canadian Open. In the final round of the Barclays, he made the hole look as big as a basketball ring. So all eyes turn to the putter that Jason Day is using, is that the edge I need for my putting game? If I buy the putter used by Jason Day, will I putt like Jason Day?

Jason doesn’t walk into the local pro shop and grab a putter off the rack like the weekend golfer, his weapon of choice is custom built to his requirements. In this case, Taylor Made start with a Ghost Spider Itsy Bitsy putter, and modify the hosel, face insert and finish to create a unique putter. As a handcrafted model, you will never find this in a proshop, golf shop, online store or ebay, however Taylor Made did produce twenty exact replica’s of the Jason Day prototype, priced at $750 each. http://vault.taylormadegolf.com/jason-day-itsy-bitsy-proto/

I’d love to say that I had the chance to actually road test the TaylorMade Itsy Bitsy Spider Proto putter, however they sold out virtually straight away. At $750 I hope they do improve the putting of the lucky owners. So my road test will be conducted by Jason Day himself, check out the video of his 28 foot putt on the 10th in the final round of the Barclays, the putter works all kind of awesome!

Here is a short video on the making of the custom putter for Jason Day

One of the most famous golf bags of all time is Al Czervik’s massive golf bag in Caddyshack, complete with remote control golf club launcher, car stereo, a beer tap, television and telephone (this is pre-mobile!). Now this is overkill, but apart from the clubs, balls, tees, what are the five must have’s in a golf bag.

Sunscreen: Recovering from sunburn after over 4 hours in the sun is not fun, even more so if you are teeing up again the following day. Sunscreen is a must have, and with spray on options, you dont even have to worry about the disaster of trying to hit a driver with hands coated in sunscreen.

Muesli Bars/Banana/Chocolate: 18 holes is a long time on the course, the body needs recharging out there, nothing worse than a tired swing down the final stretch

GPS/Range Finder: The weekend golfer does not have the luxury of an expert caddy and pre-walked yardages. A GPS or range finder is a must have

Umbrella: Kind of obvious, but Ive been caught out before by the storm that comes from nowhere

First Aid Kit: A small kit with bandaids, panadols etc comes in handy with blisters, and the scrapes and scratches from looking for your opponents ball!

Have been watching a lot of tennis recently during the Australian Open (lucky to live in Melbourne and be part of such a fantastic event), and play competition tennis at a very average level. But got to wondering what golf would be like if the player was able to have two attempts at a tee shot, as the tennis player has two attempts at the serve. Surely most players would have improved scores with the option to take a fault off the tee and play again. And how often do you hit the best drive of the day as your provisional ball following the first drive that has hooked into the trees and deep rough. It would also allow you to take more risks off the tee, maybe go for that short par 4 green with driver and knowledge that you could always grab an iron and play a safety second tee shot. And there would also be the risk in claiming a fault in your first tee shot, that the second shot was worse. There would be no going back to the first!

Of course, this is completely impractical and would make rounds of golf longer and more tedious as a foresome spent forever looking for up to 8 balls! I will suggest this as a novel way to change up our next social round of 9 holes and report back. In the meantime, back to the tennis!

King Island is a small island located in Bass Strait mid way between Victoria and Tasmania in Australia’s South East corner. Home to about 2,000 residents, King Island is mainly known for its world class local produce including cheese and beef, and stunning coastal landscapes. King Island will shortly add golf to its list of highlights thanks to the development of Cape Wickham Golf Course on the Northern tip of the island. Cape Wickham is being developed by Duncan Andrews, who developed The Dunes on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula and Thirteenth Beach on the neighboring Bellarine Peninsula, both exceptional layouts. At Cape Wickham, Duncan has teamed up with Architect Mike Devries, and golf architecture guru Darius Oliver. The course is due to open in 2015 as it goes through its final stages of development and maturing of fairways and greens.

Cape Wickham 14th hole with Turnberry-esque Lighthouse

All of the images of the course layout and topography are stunning, the course hugs the rugged coastline so much that 13 holes are on or close to the ocean. The layout opens with a par 4 that offers views out over the ocean and a tee shot that if sliced will be into Bass Strait. The course then moves along the coast, taking the golfer inland through the Dunes for short interludes before returning to the Ocean. The final three holes are bound to become iconic, played back along the coast posing a daunting but spectacular finish to the round. When the wind blows, which is probably pretty much always on King Island, this will be an amazing experience.

Its difficult to truly understand the course from the imagery, but it looks to combine the seaside undulations of Barnbougle and Mornington Peninsula, with the spectacular ocean aspects of Pebble Beach, and windswept beauty of Turnberry. This course is going to quickly be added to golfers bucket lists worldwide, and will form a new detour for the trips to Barnbougle.

Cant wait to play Cape Wickham over the next couple of years, and look forward to reviewing the experience! Until then, keep an eye on the website for updates: capewickham.com.au/